What a crazy frustrating experience to go through. I have noticed that I do so much more difficult now to sign into any of my accounts, anywhere. Asking for new passwords, special codes, authentication through email… It's so time-consuming. But the timing on this one, with your 30th anniversary edition coming out must've been rough. So glad it is all taken care of! Can't wait to get a signed copy of the new edition. ❤️
First, Congratulations on the new edition, Jeff! 🎉
Second, big bummer. I'm sorry you had to endure all that stress. These types of scenarios (and the fact that I don't want to support oligarchs) are the reason why I use a secondary platform (Kit) to sell my books direct.
Definitely hard to leave Amazon completely with reviews & rankings stored there, but we can try to minimize our reliance in them as authors.
I am soooo sorry you had to go through this!! Nobody needs this stress. It's a sin Amazon controls the world and there are no alternatives. I'm glad you finally got it all sorted out. I got lucky because I already have my copy of the book.
Ugh, this is a really depressing--and depressingly familiar to anyone who has, say, tried to get a straight answer out of a health insurance company....
Oh man - yet another cautionary tale screaming out into the void. AI isn't going to kill us by taking up weapons and going Terminator on us. We're going to kill ourselves by abdicating human responsibilities to it and then being shocked, shocked, I say, when we find it's helped us put the gun to our own, and others', heads.
Whenever I have to kick through the wall of some mindlessly-installed "convenience" system like this, I mourn the millions who don't have the wherewithal (or connections) to do the same.
Awful story, well told. Amazon thinks they can take the heat off by reversing the harm done by their bots. We need to convince them that’s not the case!
And yes, Amazon hegemony is a massive problem. The language - “this is our final decision…” - is abhorrent.
So good. And so terrible. I have been through this countless times on Facebook. And Instagram. It’s a fucking nightmare. We really need to stop AI in its tracks. The water table is our only hope. Why are we going to sacrifice all the water we need for growing crops and surviving as human bodies for all of this bullshit?If you do not know what I’m talking about Google water usage and AI, server farms, data.
Oh, Jeff. The thing about AI is it passes the Turing test these days. That means that you can’t distinguish between a AI bot and a real human. You can’t know for certain that one or more of your three correspondents wasn’t a human. What would be the blue in their responses?
And don’t kid yourself they didn’t “choose” you any more than they chose anybody else. Everybody gets that particular response if that particular path was dictated by randomness.
That said, a nice little urban horror story. Gah, better you than me. Glad it seems to have resolved itself (um, on the maximizing profit for Amazon side.). And good for you. Cheers.
Really hate those asymmetrical exchanges, yours ended well, thank whatever. So much anxiety for seemingly no reason, we’re just a glitch it seems
What an ai induced dumpster fire. Glad it has been extinguished. So sorry you had to go through this ridiculous experience.
Mickey
Why can’t irony just settle for being ironic instead of dragging in its friends like painful & irritating?
This isn't a case of AI taking over then world. It's corporate cost-cutting taking over the world. Far scarier in my opinion.
Oh Jeff. I am so relieved to read this outcome. I’ll be back out there on Wednesday. Let’s find a time to celebrate.
I should be around, email me!
Well done Jeff. What a dreadful story. Hope the new edition of Size of the World sells out at Book Passage.
What a crazy frustrating experience to go through. I have noticed that I do so much more difficult now to sign into any of my accounts, anywhere. Asking for new passwords, special codes, authentication through email… It's so time-consuming. But the timing on this one, with your 30th anniversary edition coming out must've been rough. So glad it is all taken care of! Can't wait to get a signed copy of the new edition. ❤️
First, Congratulations on the new edition, Jeff! 🎉
Second, big bummer. I'm sorry you had to endure all that stress. These types of scenarios (and the fact that I don't want to support oligarchs) are the reason why I use a secondary platform (Kit) to sell my books direct.
Definitely hard to leave Amazon completely with reviews & rankings stored there, but we can try to minimize our reliance in them as authors.
Jeff:
I am soooo sorry you had to go through this!! Nobody needs this stress. It's a sin Amazon controls the world and there are no alternatives. I'm glad you finally got it all sorted out. I got lucky because I already have my copy of the book.
Ugh, this is a really depressing--and depressingly familiar to anyone who has, say, tried to get a straight answer out of a health insurance company....
Truly terrifying!
Oh man - yet another cautionary tale screaming out into the void. AI isn't going to kill us by taking up weapons and going Terminator on us. We're going to kill ourselves by abdicating human responsibilities to it and then being shocked, shocked, I say, when we find it's helped us put the gun to our own, and others', heads.
Whenever I have to kick through the wall of some mindlessly-installed "convenience" system like this, I mourn the millions who don't have the wherewithal (or connections) to do the same.
Thanks, Pablo. Been listening to Tristan Harris's podcast, "Your undivided attention," and weeping...
Awful story, well told. Amazon thinks they can take the heat off by reversing the harm done by their bots. We need to convince them that’s not the case!
And yes, Amazon hegemony is a massive problem. The language - “this is our final decision…” - is abhorrent.
So good. And so terrible. I have been through this countless times on Facebook. And Instagram. It’s a fucking nightmare. We really need to stop AI in its tracks. The water table is our only hope. Why are we going to sacrifice all the water we need for growing crops and surviving as human bodies for all of this bullshit?If you do not know what I’m talking about Google water usage and AI, server farms, data.
For ages, everyone was so sure that the end was going to come as a zombie apocalypse...
Don't rule that out, either,,,
At least zombies would be easier to outsmart!
Oh, Jeff. The thing about AI is it passes the Turing test these days. That means that you can’t distinguish between a AI bot and a real human. You can’t know for certain that one or more of your three correspondents wasn’t a human. What would be the blue in their responses?
And don’t kid yourself they didn’t “choose” you any more than they chose anybody else. Everybody gets that particular response if that particular path was dictated by randomness.
That said, a nice little urban horror story. Gah, better you than me. Glad it seems to have resolved itself (um, on the maximizing profit for Amazon side.). And good for you. Cheers.
Clue in their responses. Haha.